Army kills top leader of rebels in S. Sudan

Dec. 20, 2011 10:40 PMAssociated Press

JUBA, South Sudan - South Sudan's military forces killed the country's highest-profile rebel leader, a man who posed a significant security threat to peace inside the world's newest country, an official said.

Rebel leader George Athor was a former lieutenant general in South Sudan's military during the 1983-2005 civil war with Sudan. But Athor launched a rebellion after losing an April 2010 election for governor of Jonglei state, a vote he maintained was rigged.

Troops loyal to Athor fought repeatedly with South Sudanese forces over the last year, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

South Sudanese officials on Tuesday leveled serious charges against Athor, saying he had been making contacts with the region's most insidious rebel group -- the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA -- and that officials in Sudan's capital Khartoum had been financing him.

South Sudan has repeatedly accused its northern neighbor, Sudan, with providing support and assistance to Athor and other rebel groups. Sudan has denied those accusations.

South Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar, in announcing Athor's death on Tuesday, said Athor had been in Rwanda, Congo and Uganda recently in a drive to recruit fighters.